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The Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja, on Monday allowed the European Union (EU) Observation Mission’s final report to be used as evidence in the 2023 general election case.
Atiku Abubakar, a candidate from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), submitted the report, claiming that the election was manipulated to favor President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
They claimed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) used a third-party device to intercept and allocate votes to Tinubu.
But the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) denied the allegations and defended the election’s integrity with documentary evidence.
During the court proceedings, Deputy Director of ICT at INEC Lawrence Bayode, presented documentary evidence, including a letter from the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, to INEC, stating his withdrawal as the APC candidate for the Borno Central Senatorial election.
Bayode emphasized that the election was conducted fairly and in compliance with the Electoral Act.
He, however, clarified that the results were not electronically collated, as announced by the Chairman of INEC, Mahmoud Yakubu, prior to the election.
In response to cross-examination, Bayode acknowledged a technical glitch on the day of the presidential poll but maintained that it did not affect the final scores of the candidates.
He also stated that not all the results were electronically transmitted, and some were manually uploaded on the IReV portal.
The court, however, accepted the EU report despite objections from President Tinubu and the APC.
INEC’s counsel confirmed the EU’s accreditation to monitor the elections but stated that they hadn’t seen the final report.
The report indicated that only 31 per cent of the uploaded results were mathematically correct. Some results were not electronically transmitted, leading to questions about the election’s transparency.
In addition to the EU report, Atiku and the PDP challenged Tinubu’s eligibility, raising concerns about inconsistencies in personal information and dual citizenship.
Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, are set to present their defense as the case continues to shed light on the credibility of the 2023 presidential election.